Volunteer Profiles

Joanna Rom ’74
 

Joanna Rom ’74 was born in New York City and grew up on Long Island. She came to Bryn Mawr on the recommendation of a couple of Mawrter family friends, and the idea of a bi-co community appealed to her. When she visited campus for the first time, she could see herself there. She now lives in Washington DC with her husband of over 45 years. They have two children and two grandchildren.

Her mom collected owls and was excited for Joanna to attend Bryn Mawr so she could add to her collection. After her mom passed, many of those owls made their way to the Alumnae Association and now greet you when you come into the Alumnae/i Relations and Development offices.

Joanna majored in English and there were so many favorite professors and classes, including Pat McPherson in Greek Philosophy, Stephen Salkever in political science, Louise Barnett's class on urban fiction, the inimitable Sandra Berwind, Harris Wofford (she audited his Law and Education class) and Kate Millett. Bill Paul’s film class at Haverford was also a favorite.

Comparing the three short years on campus (she spent her junior year in London) to the many years since, Joanna feels that she is a much better alumna than a student! She came to realize over time how much of her sense of confidence was contributed by the College, especially early on in her 40-year career at the National Science Foundation (NSF) when she was often the only woman in the room.

She tells us Bryn Mawr’s education and experience keeps on giving. As her dad would say, “college is just to whet your appetite for learning.”  In fact, of the first things she did after retiring in 2015 was to sign up for a bookstore sponsored class taught by Elaine Showalter '62.

When Joanna first moved to Washington, DC in 1975 she spent time with College friends and also met other alumnae/i through the local Bryn Mawr club. Back then, she volunteered at the Lantern bookstore (in its old Dupont Circle location) and became active with the career network group. Since retiring from NSF she volunteers as a docent at the Library of Congress. She is also active in the trivia community (who knew there was a trivia community?), which served her well when she appeared on Jeopardy in 2018!

Volunteering comes naturally to Joanna. Besides her commitment to the Library of Congress, her volunteer work includes being a longtime Class President, a past Alumnae Association Board member, and a member of the Committee on Leadership Development. Being on the AAEB (2011-2014) meant stepping up her game. She enjoyed the work as both a member of the Board and as chair of the Leadership Development Committee. 

She has coordinated meetups with fellow Mawrtyrs, hosted DC visitors from the old College list-serv, and met Mawrtyrs all over the country where she gained many cross-generational friendships. In her work at the National Science Foundation, Joanna hosted externs at career network projects. She has enjoyed all her volunteer roles.

Joanna feels a special connection to the “mothership” and especially loved returning to campus for her 50^th Reunion this year. Being a Class President has been particularly fun because the class had a wonderful reunion planning and fundraising team including Cynthia Perry Barth, Carrie Mersereau Buchanan, Verneda “Rikki” Lights, Mae O'Brien, Gale Rutan, Joyce Motylewski Hansen, Victoria “Tory” Rhodin, Lyn Schoenfeld.

Being on Bryn Mawr’s beautiful campus always feels like a treat for Joanna - step sing was especially magical. Their class song, The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell has special meaning to her class. She also enjoyed the Author’s Event, but the biggest joy was to be with her classmates. They share a deep and timeless sense of connection she tells us, even if she only sees some of them every five years.

She was able to help with outreach to fellow classmates and praises the planning and fundraising teams who met both their registration and fundraising goals. They had excellent feedback from classmates and were proud to see that they won some hefty awards at Reunion, including the Maisie Hardenbergh Dethier ’43 Award for Highest Giving Participation with a rate of 55% and The Ellenor Morris ’27 Award for Highest Bryn Mawr Fund Total with $274,969.50 raised. They also won the highest donor participation for a class celebrating a 30th Reunion or higher.

For Joanna, paying it forward as a volunteer is rewarding. She tells us she has benefited greatly by having generous role models like Mike Niccolls '39, Nancy Kirk '59, Hilary Carlson '64 and Marcia Cantarella '68 among many others. She would advise anyone who is interested in volunteering to just do it! 

She notes that there are so many ways to participate in person and remotely - helping with your local club and/or local bookstore if you have one, becoming a class editor, joining a reunion committee, hosting externs, welcoming students and fellow alums for informational interviews or fundraising. Also, participating on Bryn Mawr oriented Facebook groups has created networking opportunities and a sense of shared purpose and identity.

Joanna feels that you get more out of volunteering by way of all the friends as well as professional connections you will make and fondly reminisces about meeting other alumnae/i at past Reunions.

Joanna received the Lifetime of Service Award at Owls Fest 2023. It came as a complete surprise to her and made her realize how much she volunteered over the years. It is very meaningful to Joanna to be on the same list as the fabulous alumnae/i who received this award in the past. 

Teresa Wallace '79

This year, Teresa Wallace ’79 will celebrate her forty-fifth Reunion. Teresa says “We are an enthusiastic class and always enjoy being together. It's important to get a lot of people back to reunion so everybody can connect. I've been to all our reunions, and what I tell people who were reluctant to come is that I always meet people at Reunion who I didn't really know well in college. At Reunion you can connect with them, and you discover it's like meeting a new friend. So, it's really a fun time.”

Teresa grew up in Bozeman, Montana and would enjoy searching through lists of colleges while in high school. She was desperate to get out of Montana which she tells us is ironic, because her hometown is now one of the coolest places in the United States to live. But in 1975 it was not so.

Other members of her family had not gone away for college and attended in-state schools. Teresa learned about Bryn Mawr from watching the television show the College Bowl, where the women on the Bryn Mawr College Bowl team “cleaned the clocks” of all the guys on the other teams. She was impressed with that.

So, when she received a letter in the mail inviting her to apply to Bryn Mawr, she convinced her parents to let her. After a crazy and wonderful three-hour alumni interview with Helen Bross ’39, who lived in Billings, Montana and was an early physics major at the College, Teresa thought, “I have to go to this place.”

Once she was accepted and convinced her parents that it would be okay for her to go, her first day on campus was the day she flew out to start her freshman year. Not only had she never seen the College before her first day, but it was also the first time she had ever flown on an airplane.

She is grateful for her parents and gives her mother and father tremendous credit, because she isn’t sure that she would have let her daughter do what her parents allowed her to do. 

Teresa had a great experience at Bryn Mawr. She was an English major and Sandra Berwind from the English department was a favorite professor. She gushes about the small 12-person seminar class she had on Yates and Stevens in her senior year and how grateful she was for that class.

Following law school at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where she met her husband John Chou, Teresa had some interesting vocations including serving as the an Assistant Dean of Students at two different law schools: Widener and Drexel Universities. She realized what she loved the best was talking to young people about their futures, so she made the bold decision to switch to being a guidance counselor at Abington High School when she turned 50. It was humbling when she started, but seeing kids on the cusp of making big changes in their lives was exciting and she loved it.

Teresa retired earlier than planned to help care for sick parents, still living in Montana. These days feel terrific since John has also retired. They keep busy and Teresa is grateful to have the time to do the things she cares about. 

As a volunteer, Teresa was always involved with her class but what sparked her long volunteer history was that someone asked her to help with something. She was flattered that Elliot Shore, the former head of the library, invited her to join the Board of Friends of the Library. It wasn't something that was on her radar but got her started as a volunteer.

The more she started spending time on campus connecting with staff and meeting people, she found that she enjoyed it very much. Besides the Friends of the Library Board, Teresa has also served on fundraising committees for a few reunions and in non-reunion years, as Class Editor, Class President, and now as a member of the Board of Trustees. She has found joy in all of them all.

The Distinguished Service Award was given to Teresa at Owls Fest 2023 for her exemplary leadership and commitment to shape programming and to set the course for the Bryn Mawr community at the highest levels. Although she is uncomfortable with the attention, she was very honored to receive the award and flattered to be included in the list of awardees.

The sense of being able to pay back has been hugely rewarding and her favorite part of volunteering is being on campus and having the ability to talk to students and staff.

As a Board member, she enjoys being one of the trustee liaisons to the Staff Association and hearing what is going on with staff across campus and being able to support the work with staff. She also likes being connected and helping the institution move forward. Teresa tells us she has seen positive changes in the College in the past few years and appreciates Bryn Mawr’s commitment to first-generation students and to providing access.

Teresa advises anyone thinking of volunteering to simply raise their hand. “If there's something you really like doing, I can guarantee you if you raise your hand the College will find a place for you to do something. Whether it's a class activity or regional clubs. There are lots of ways to be involved, including the summer sendoffs - one of the things people tell me they particularly love. Attending one of the summer sendoffs and meeting some students who are about to head off to Bryn Mawr is a fun and easy way to reconnect with the College and to talk about what it means to you. So, I just say, volunteer, raise your hand for something that you like. It’s so easy to do”.

Aheli Purkayastha ‘09

Growing up, Aheli heard about Bryn Mawr’s incredible legacy from family friends. Her mother is a dean at the University of Connecticut and a sociology professor who, through teaching and mentoring, worked with many Bryn Mawr grads. She pushed Aheli in the best way possible by connecting her with those Mawrters.

Still, it wasn’t an easy or fast decision to attend an all-women’s College, but other places kept getting crossed off the list. Then, after going to an open campus day and being invited to hang out with the tour guide and her friends, it cemented her decision.

Participating in a conversation with students in their dorm in Pem East, she listened to incredible women who were just a year older talking about all the internships they were doing, papers they were writing with their professors, and the dance programs they were starting. Students were also passionate about politics and she knew she wanted to be a part of this community – everyone may be 18, but they certainly could change the world and Aheli wanted to join them.

Aheli majored in political science at Haverford and history of art at Bryn Mawr, even though she thought she would follow in her mother’s Sociology footsteps. She was fully a humanities social science person and loved her subjects. 

Christina Beltran’s classes at Haverford were transformative in how to take political science beyond just theory and apply it in real life settings. Her favorite History of Art classes with Martha Easton and Homay King inspired her to look at art – whether paintings, photographs are film- as a capsule of history and cultural narrative. 

She has kept some of her books from college and moves them everywhere along with her lantern.

Aheli’s favorite tradition changes seasonally, but right now her favorite is Lantern Night. She thinks it’s so incredibly special that every graduate of Bryn Mawr has a lantern and it’s her favorite thing to show and tell people when they ask about it in her office. But talk to her in May when she wishes she could go back and celebrate May Day when everyone took a moment to celebrate the closure of the year. She is happy to see there is more of an emphasis on having fun these days though. 

Following Bryn Mawr, Aheli received her master’s in international political theory at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She still meets with her classmates once a month to break down what’s happening in the world. After graduation, she spent time at the United Nations in New York, coordinating meetings between the UN Security Council and various NGOs. She thought she would continue in the NGO space but her career path took an unexpected turn when her father proposed starting a company together. 

With a background in engineering, he wanted to start a family business to help Data Centers ( huge energy consumers) become more sustainable. Knowing how much Aheli likes to connect with people, he just wanted her help for a couple of months, which has turned into a career. 

Aheli likes the challenge and variety as the Chief Product Officer at Purkay Labs, their small tech firm. She loves getting to wake up each day and work on a different part of the business – from running client meetings to designing the software interfaces – every day is different. She also takes pride in promoting diversity in industry, particularly in recruiting women and people of color.  The work appeals to her, and she feels lucky to be in a career she loves and to be able to work with her dad.

Aheli started her volunteer work serving as co-Class President in her freshman and sophomore year, and eventually become the President of the SGA. As an alum, she started volunteering for the GOLD Committee to help connect alums who had recently graduated from Bryn Mawr to the large Bryn Mawr community.  Working with staff members, like Gabrielle Gary and Taylor Milne ’17 gave her a glimpse of the way the College works behind the scenes. 

Aheli now serves as the Vice-President of the Alumnae Association Executive Board (AAEB) where she gets the opportunity to meet people she would not otherwise have had the chance to meet. She enjoys hearing why people came to and have continued to help he College. Bringing together Bryn Mawr’s incredible women and beautiful histories of the College through the years is her guilty pleasure. 

She tells us repeatedly that she will always volunteer for Bryn Mawr because Bryn Mawr is the reason she is who she is today. She enjoys giving her time and wants to be a resource to help keep Bryn Mawr growing and getting better. She wants to hear from people who may not have had a great experience and celebrate those who did. She tells us the selfish part of her being a class volunteer was the experience of connecting with fellow classmates across all paths of life and those insider moments hearing about what’s happening on campus. 

Being a volunteer restores her by joining with a group of women and other humans that care about and support Bryn Mawr and challenge it to become better. Bryn Mawr is home to her and she will always answer when Bryn Mawr calls.

Aheli was chosen for the Young Alum Award because of her dedication and accomplishments as a volunteer. When Sally Bachofer ’97 presented the award, among her remarks she stated, ”Aheli leads by example by attending Bryn Mawr programs, networking and connecting GOLD Mawrters to College resources, and encouraging Mawrters to consider Bryn Mawr as part of their philanthropic priorities. She is always willing to roll up her sleeves and do more than what was required of the job. She pushes all of our conversations and actions to acknowledge and celebrate the College we all experienced as students, supporting the Bryn Mawr of today, and championing the Bryn Mawr that lies ahead. With her creative vision and collaborative approach, her contributions to our work are immeasurable.”

When Gabrielle Gary called to tell her she won the Young Alum Award, she was flabbergasted. She feels beyond humbled and appreciative to receive such an honor. She truly loves Bryn Mawr and wants to encourage others to volunteer so they can also feel the same feeling of happiness she feels.

For anyone considering becoming a volunteer Aheli wants you to realize there is no small task. Just writing a note or talking about an upcoming event on Facebook can make such a tremendous difference. You don’t need to jump in and give up all of your free time. Be patient and kind to yourself. The administration truly cares about the connection and you will be valued, heard, and very much appreciated. And of course, as Kim Cassidy always says, just talking about Bryn Mawr can also be one of the most simple, easiest tasks to do. Celebrate your Bryn Mawr and be proud of it.

Aheli will have a 15th Reunion this year which in many ways feels like just yesterday to her. 
As each year passes from her graduation, she realizes the community is there. She may not have loved everything about the College when she left it (she graduated during the recession) but is happy to see changes in programs involving career and professional development now. Reunion is a time to reconnect and evaluate what’s happening and what changes have occurred.

She is looking forward to her classmates holding a large brainstorming session about their Reunion. They’re watching other classes do some incredible things including standout giveaways and wondering if her class could do something that will be loved and kept for their 20th in a few short years. 

With the advent of Owls Fest, you don’t have to just come back for Reunion. You have a chance every year to participate. You’ll see Aheli there.

Stephanie Wujcik Griffin '08 

Stephanie grew up in New Jersey playing and loving lacrosse. On a College visit, coach Katie Tarr suggested that she spend a weekend with the team, and it finalized her decision to attend Bryn Mawr. Over her four years as a Bryn Mawr athlete, Stephanie started every game. According to Bi-co News writer, Lily Hann, Stehanie’s general enthusiasm and positivity led to much praise from her coaches as a dedicated athlete and effective leader.

Along with her role as captain of the College’s lacrosse team, and a Basketball team member in her senior year, Stephanie also served as the Sports Information intern, a Bi-College News writer, Athletic Association Vice-President, Athletic Association President, and Centennial Conference SAAC Vice-President. Stephanie received numerous awards in her time at Bryn Mawr. She was a part of the All-Conference Sportsmanship Team and was on the NCAA DIII Centennial Conference Basketball Honor Roll, International Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Honor Roll, as well as the DIII Lacrosse Honor Roll. She also earned the Janet Yeager Cup (for dedication and service to the Bryn Mawr Athletic Department), and the Ray Award (for spirit, dedication, and support of many teams).

After prepping for pre-law classes and writing an essay about being a lawyer, Stephanie was advised by Dean Raima Evans to try something completely different as part of her studies. This led Stephanie to graduate in 2008 with her BA in History and begin her career in Education instead of the legal field. For her, Bryn Mawr spurred her interest to explore all possibilities and gave her the ability to tap into a part of the community she otherwise would not have explored.

A life-long learner, Stephanie went on to receive a Global Competence Certificate from the Teachers College of Columbia University in 2016, a Master of Science Education from the University of Pennsylvania in 2009, and an Instructional Leadership Certificate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 2023. Her passion for education has led her to serve as the Assistant Director of Residential Life at Bryn Mawr, a Dean at the Baldwin School, a high school Language Arts and History teacher, a middle school Social Studies teacher, and a Director of Athletics. After serving as a Middle School Academic Dean, she recently stepped into the role of Assistant Head of School for Academics at Trinity Episcopal School, a K-8 independent school serving the Charlotte, NC, region. Stephanie does not think she would have pursued teaching were it not for Bryn Mawr which instilled in her critical thinking and engagement skills and allowed her to explore all possibilities.

Stephanie also coached lacrosse for 10 years following her graduation but recently started coaching middle school soccer. With an active almost 7-year-old daughter playing soccer, she feels she will always have an athletics connection and skill set. She brings the same lens to her coaching that she learned at Bryn Mawr, where you maintain balance between the academic and athletic life of a student, and the most important thing is educating the whole person.

Stephanie received the 2023 Young Alum Service Award which is bestowed for volunteer efforts, leadership, initiative, and dedication serving as an example of the next generation’s commitment to Bryn Mawr. It was an unexpected honor to receive this year’s award.

Bryn Mawr changed Stephanie’s life and volunteering has offered her the opportunity to give back by promoting an incredible education. She participated as a fundraiser for her 5^th Reunion and served as President of the Charlotte Club as well as an Admissions Representative. She recommends volunteering to everyone. Many volunteers know it can open doors, and you get to talk with other impassioned, intelligent, and likeminded individuals. She feels honored to bring Bryn Mawr to the forefront of others’ heart and minds as a way to help sustain the College.

Saskia Subramanian '88

Saskia Subramanian ‘88 grew up in Buffalo and when it came time to tour colleges, she chose her top five from the Most Competitive Colleges guide. Bryn Mawr instantly resonated with her, and she knew it was the school she wanted to attend. Even today, Saskia continues to value women’s colleges as a place where you learn that you can and should be a leader and deserve to have a place at the table. Bryn Mawr gave her the confidence and self-assurance to succeed in her personal and professional life.

Saskia’s plan was to pursue a medical career, but after taking Sociology courses with Bob Washington and David Karen at the suggestion of several students, Saskia changed her major to Sociology, going on to complete her MA at Bryn Mawr and Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania. She has since devoted much of her career to the field as a qualitative researcher, collecting stories and writing a number of articles around a variety of topics including life after breast cancer.

When Saskia moved to Southern California with her husband, Marcus Linden HC ’88 in 1995, she received an invitation to attend a Bryn Mawr Southern California Club event. With that, she found her niche in her new home and started on her decades of volunteerism for the College.

Through her Bryn Mawr volunteer work, Saskia has enjoyed meeting alums from all over the world and has developed close friendships with alumnae from many different class years. In addition to serving as President for the Southern California Club, Saskia has also served as the Alumnae Association Executive Board President, and as an Alumna Admissions Representative. In just the last three years, she has conducted 36 interviews and feels energized seeing the incredible women who are applying to the College.

In her work as a Trustee of the College, Saskia feels privileged to get to know the staff and faculty running Bryn Mawr, and she is grateful the College is in exceptional hands. During the pandemic, many Colleges cut their staff and raised their tuition. Bryn Mawr did neither. Saskia is proud that the College was able to protect its endowment and its staff, ensuring the strength of the institution and its endurance for the next generation.

Looking for yet another way to serve and remembering the amazing stories she’s heard at Reunions over the years, Saskia recently created the Bryn Mawr Oral History Project where she interviews exceptional and interesting alumnae/i. Since much of history is told through the lens of men, Saskia is showcasing women from a time when women largely were not expected to go to College. She has a long list of alums to contact!

It meant the world to Saskia to receive the Distinguished Service Award at this year’s Volunteer Summit. She feels a responsibility to give back to the College and values that she can help with her time and her philanthropy. To anyone thinking of volunteering she says, “what are you waiting for? The potential to gain wonderful friendships and practical professional experience is enormous. You will get more out of the work than you put into it.”

MarieJoy (MJ) Mendoza-Riess

Tapestry Working Committee Member Mariejoy (MJ) Mendoza-Riess ’01 reflects on Unity Day 2023

For the second year during Spring Break, BIPOC* Students and Alumnae/i gathered to connect, and to discuss the intersection of their respective identities. The idea originated from Joi Dallas, Assistant Dean of Intercultural Engagement, and student participation was sponsored by the Pensby Center. In 2022, the inaugural year, the trip centered on the Black/African Diaspora experience in New York City. In 2023, the trip focused on the Asian American experience in Washington, DC. This year, thoughtful discussions included the recognition that Black and Asian identities are not a monolith.

Mariejoy (MJ) Mendoza-Riess ’01, Tapestry Working Committee Member, served as this year’s alumnae/i leader and partnered with BIPOC Mawrters, as well as the Alumnae/i Relations and Development (ARD) Office to create a day-long experience. Here are some of her reflections as a volunteer from the trip. You can read more in the upcoming Tapestry Talks section of the Alumnae/i Bulletin.

What inspired you to become more involved as a volunteer?

I attended Reunion in 2021 and my classmate, best friend, and volunteer-extraordinaire, Kierstin Gray ’01, suggested that I explore Tapestry. I was feeling the glow of being around my peers, the magic of being around Mawrters. The beauty of the campus struck me, and I felt reenergized after seeing the Pensby Center, meeting current students, and re-connecting with classmates. In short, I felt motivated to re-engage and serve the college and the alumnae/i community. The timing was right in my professional and personal life to explore new ways to become involved. After Reunion, I attended some Tapestry open meetings and quickly raised my hand for subcommittee work and special projects. When I was asked by the ARD Office to Chair the Alumnae/i Committee for the BIPOC Unity Trip--I went from zero to one hundred (just kidding, not that many) in terms of volunteer hours in little over a year. It was a volunteer opportunity that was concrete and mirrored some of my interests when I was a student. Celebrating the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community just felt right!

What made the BIPOC Unity Day Trip unique for you?

Often, people of color are navigating white-dominated places. It is rare to have a space where you can safely and non-judgmentally discuss race and gender. There are even fewer opportunities to have these conversations with fellow BIPOC Mawrters. I am so grateful that I had the chance to meet new alums and reconnect with alums I have not seen in years on this trip. We have exchanged emails, are discussing visits, and staying in touch.

This trip also gave me the opportunity to continue learning. As part of the day, we toured DC’s Chinatown. The conversations we had centering around the impact of city planning, affordable housing, and business development on the Chinese American community resonated with me and made me reflect on the displacement of minority communities in my own hometown of San Francisco and other cities in the U.S. Chinatown was once a vibrant space, and now it has only a few buildings that speak to the past. Even though I don’t hold this specific AAPI identity, I was reminded that advocating for the preservation and storytelling helps us to better understand how systemic racism impacts all BIPOC communities.

I am thankful to all the Mawrters who attended this trip and served on the alumnae/i planning committee. They are Mina Bansal '17, Cindy Chea '22, Esther Chiang '14, Sara de Groot '99, Maria Grewe '97, Theresa Kim '01, Abigail Lua '19, Alisha Park '13, and Enaas Sultan '22. The conversations are ongoing.

Juliet Goodfriend '63

Volunteer Lifetime of Service Award Recipient, Juliet Goodfriend ’63 Juliet Goodfriend received a Mayoral scholarship from her Philadelphia high school and had her choice of colleges to attend. She was familiar with Bryn Mawr from her sister, Ruth Goodfriend Urbach’s ’57 time preceding her. She considered Swarthmore but loved Bryn Mawr’s campus, traditions, and songs.

Following graduation, Juliet began a robust career writing for numerous organizations. She also founded a global custom marketing and consulting firm for the pharmaceutical industry.

Her largest undertaking by far, though, was founding the Bryn Mawr Film Institute (BMFI). She was appalled when she heard the old Seville Theater (opened in 1926) was about to become another Main Line health club. She knew the company that wanted the property were counting on the wrong population of customers – local women who already had gym memberships elsewhere.

Without any knowledge of the film industry, she took on acquiring and restoring what is now the Bryn Mawr Film Institute (BMFI). It was a huge learning curve without anyone assigned to show her the way. She wrote extensively, researched widely, and raised a lot of the needed funds, while working for years refining and implementing BMFI’s particular vision. Swarthmore graduate and local rescuer of movie houses, John Toner, helped her learn the film industry.

Juliet attributes the success of this huge undertaking to her Bryn Mawr education. It taught her to ask the right questions and where to look for the right answers. Today, the BMFI is one of Philly’s Best, with currently over 9,000 members. It has won numerous awards and serves as a teaching theater with guest speakers, interactive programs, special events, and movie screenings.

During this time, Juliet also committed to increase her volunteer activity for Bryn Mawr College. She served on the Board of Trustees, is a founding member and inaugural chair of the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research Board of Advisors, served as a Class President, Club President, and fundraised for all her reunions (she calls herself a reunion junkie). She also served on numerous non-profit boards, won the Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania Award, and received the Paradigm Award for successful businesswomen. Amidst all of this, she also raised a family.

Motivated by her love of Bryn Mawr, Juliet finds that volunteering is a pleasure. To anyone considering volunteering, she recommends reminding yourself about what you love about the College. She is humbled by the “extraordinary honor” to receive this year’s Lifetime Service Award bestowed at Volunteer Summit and Homecoming in September. She tells us the award was an “affirmation that her lifetime is not over and that it is still possible to do good things for BMC and other worthy causes.”

Tyler Garber '14 and Swetha Narasimhan ‘15

For GOLD Committee Co-chairs Tyler Garber ‘14 and Swetha Narasimhan ‘15, the best reason to volunteer at Bryn Mawr is the connections you make and keep with other Mawrters. There’s perhaps no truer epitome of this type of connection than the one Tyler and Swetha have themselves. Today, they lead the committee of 15 young alumnae/i together, but the two initially met as students in the mathematics department. At Bryn Mawr, Tyler majored in Sociology and minored in Math and Education, and Swetha majored in Math and minored in Education. While their time on campus is marked by fond memories and annual traditions like May Day, they have a hard time pinpointing a favorite memory from their undergraduate years. For Swetha, “Bryn Mawr was a collection of all those small moments... you’re with friends, and you’re with people that you love, and those minute relationship moments set the stage for connections later in life.”

Their paths continued in the same direction after graduation. Both Swetha and Tyler went on to receive their master’s degrees in education at the University of Pennsylvania and began teaching at high-needs schools in Philadelphia. “It was the best decision I ever made,” Tyler says of her time teaching middle school math and 10th grade geometry with Teach for America. A decision with which she credits Bryn Mawr’s career counselors, who helped her recognize that despite her lifelong desire to practice law (she now works as an attorney), she also loved working with kids. Swetha, too, is grateful for support from Bryn Mawr to pursue her degree; she was a recipient of the Noyce Scholarship through the College’s partnership with the National Science Foundation and spent 6 years post-graduation teaching math. They remember anassing each other at their Penn graduation, along with several other Mawrters graduating from their programs at the same time. While Tyler moved back to her hometown of Los Angeles and Swetha opted to stay in Philadelphia, neither alumna has lost touch with the community they formed at BMC; “I’m always in contact with someone from Bryn Mawr,” Tyler says.

Beyond staying connected to other alumnae/i, Swetha and Tyler felt drawn to volunteer because of the impact that the College had on their lives. A defining feeling of their experience they recall today is trust: to leave personal items on tables in Erdman, or shoes in the hallway, but also trust in a community that has your back. “It’s the confidence that you leave campus with,” Swetha says, “that I can take parts of me into whatever’s next.” Tyler agrees. “There's a real sense of community and care.”

To alumnae/i interested in becoming volunteers, Tyler and Swetha offer the following advice: “Plug in where you can,” suggests Swetha. She emphasizes that there are a lot of different entry points. Tyler recommends understanding the commitment you want to make, and that volunteering can look different for everyone.

Millie Bond '05

Executive Director of Constituent Engagement

Executive Director of Constituent Engagement, Millie Bond ’05 took some time to talk with us about her own Bryn Mawr story, Alumnae/i Relations and Development over the past year, and what she is looking forward to in the year ahead.

As a student Millie spent much of her time on the athletic fields as a member of the field hockey and lacrosse teams. She is still close with her teammates and tries to take the long walks around campus whenever possible. She finds it exciting to discover the common experiences between her time as a student and today’s students. In addition, as Executive Director of Constituent Engagement, Millie now works to help alumnae/i connect – both virtually and in person – to support the College and each other.

Millie works closely with the Alumnae/i Association Executive Board (AAEB) and AAEB president, Sally Bachover ’97. The AAEB represents the alumnae/i voice, and they are eager to connect with fellow Mawrters. This past year, for the first time, the AAEB selection process held an open call for members via email. It created an outpouring of interest, and the College was able to reach new people and bring forth more candidates for a variety of volunteer positions.

Another way Millie is seeking to increase our outreach to alumnae/i came with the pivot to virtual spaces during the pandemic. Many of our alumnae/i from across the globe welcomed the opportunity to attend events online. While we will likely continue some programming online, when it came time for Reunion this past summer, the Alumnae/i Relations and Development team was excited to welcome alumnae/i back to campus and to celebrate in person together. The celebration continued this fall with the close of the successful Defy Expectation Campaign, raising more than $301 million to support students, faculty, and campus projects. There is a lot of good news from the Campaign that’s all a direct result of support from alumnae/i.

During the Campaign, Alumnae/i Relations and Development also fostered programs such as MawrterConnect for alumnae/i to sustain professional networks, began the monthly Alumnae/i newsletter to share all of the club and regional events available to alumnae/i and helped alumnae/i start additional regional clubs and affinity groups – all to create new connections and strengthen longstanding bonds. To stay up to date Millie suggests signing up for MawrterConnect, reading the Alumnae/i Bulletin, and the monthly Alumnae/i newsletter.

Looking ahead, Millie is thinking anew about the ways volunteers engage with each other and the College, and how sharing stories and College news can help those connections.

Emily Whitten '22

Political Science Major, English Minor from Natick, MA

When Emily Whitten’s grandmother, Betsy Watkins ‘61 sent her Bryn Mawr information, she adamantly said, “No!” to the prospect of attending. It wasn’t until she began to look at the materials and liked what she saw that she decided to visit. Emily was drawn to the community and couldn’t believe how available juniors and seniors were to visiting high school students. Bryn Mawr’s traditions also attracted her and helped to make Bryn Mawr her top choice. As a first-year student, she experienced parade night in the pouring rain and was amazed to see how many upper-class students came out to welcome her and her fellow classmates home even in the downpour.

College was always her expected path, but without the assistance of aid, Emily would not have gone to Bryn Mawr. She says every donation helps send her and her classmates to the school of their dreams.

Emily holds several jobs on campus: Admissions tour guide; Career and Civic Engagement Center (CCEC) coordinator, and hall advisor. As a tour guide, she tells prospective students about the community and that “this is a place where people truly care about each other.” Her work as a hall advisor gives her the opportunity to work to foster that special sense of community in the dorms.

Experiencing life beyond the campus is also important. As a CCEC coordinator of the Overbrook Art Program, Emily helps to bring art classes to a local elementary school and volunteers as the art teacher. Taking a 360o cluster program in 2019 meant traveling to China. For a semester she was immersed in the subject of borderlands, the courses of borderlands and encounters that occur there with a particular focus along China’s Southwest Silk Road. She was able to then bring her academics to life by traveling through China just prior to the pandemic.

Last summer, Emily received funding through Bryn Mawr's CCEC to work with a non-profit, fundraising to keep legal services free through their platform. If it weren't for the funding available, she would not have been as willing to take risks and get to know new employment opportunities. This internship taught her valuable skills and helped her understand the nonprofit, legal, and tech fundraising fields better.

Going forward, her future is a question mark. She will travel through the UK for a bit with her brother, see a new city and then will study in a four-week law program in Kings College. It will give Emily the chance to find out if pursuing law is something she would like to do long-term. She is also considering government work, helping to change policies to remove barriers for women, gender minorities, and people of color in the United States.

Life is bittersweet at the moment. It may be the reflective, nostalgic state she’s in as a senior (time flies when you're having fun), but she feels that Bryn Mawr gave her everything and more. She continues to be thankful and awed at the commitment of alums and others to make sure Bryn Mawr is a financial reality for students.

She is very grateful for the opportunities her education will offer her in life and hopes the path she follows as she becomes an adult will do justice to the education she received while at Bryn Mawr.